Vader belong to that category of metal bands with any of their releases being guaranteed a stable and reliable result, without feeling the need to differentiate and vary their music and with respect to their past. So, after nine albums, Vader deliver TIBI ET IGNI, a pure death metal album with all the good Vader elements. TIBI ET IGNI is the first album to feature British drummer James Stewart, who replaced Pawel "Paul" Jaroszewicz in 2011. I can say that this guy did a good job.

The production is clean and modern without any “dust and dirt” on the tracks like LITANY (if you know what I mean by that) BUT this doesn’t mean that Vader has been modernized. The production is clear and rigorous with contrast-defined guitar and an angry and catchy sound and you can hear all the instruments very clearly. TIBI ET IGNI is old school in several ways:

1) pure death metal (this is old-school by default,

2) it’s kinda groovy (less than NECROPOLIS), fairly technical but it’s not blasty or core-y in any way. It doesn’t have the “thick” tone and grindiness that so many have come to expect from modern death metal,

3) Short records that leave the listener wanting more are often way better than a long record with tracks you never listen to because you’re moving onto something new after an hour (Hell! yeah! That’s really old-school!).

I have to say that Slayer-infused track “Triumph of Death” is the “hit” here with its catchy tunes is too…great! “Where Angels Weep” is literally Hell transformed into music, and I loved the epic sound and melody of “The Eyes of The Abyss”, I adored the breaks in “The End” and the clean vocals as well.

Vader didn't do something different compared to what we already know. They just created another one excellent album. So simple! With the plethora of core bands and other things, the dynamics and groove seem to be falling to the wayside in lieu of bands that can play fast and technically, but don’t seem to be able to write a really good groove riff that doesn’t sound like a hardcore breakdown. Even there is a big list with death metal bands out there; the old-ones do the best work. Sorry new bands!

The old man is a wise man.

O tempora, O mores!

Track Listing

1. Go To Hell
2. Where Angels Weep
3. Armada on Fire
4. Triumph of Death
5. Hexenkessel
6. Abandon All Hope
7. Worms of Eden
8. The Eye of The Abyss
9. Light Reaper
10. The End